Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Tuesdays with Dorie - Oasis Naan


Today's recipe for the Baking with Dorie group is Oasis Naan.

The recipe for this round-shaped, leavened, oven-baked flatbread of Persian origin was contributed by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.




Naan can either complement a main dish or it can also be eaten plain, with ghee ( clarified butter that originated in South Asia) or regular butter. Naan can also be prepared with different flavors such as garlic, spices or herbs. It can also be stuffed with different vegetables or with meat.




The basic dough for the Oasis Naan in Dorie´s book is the same basic dough as for the Persian Naan (the recipes for both these flatbreads are from the same contributing bakers). The only ingredients required for the dough are tepid water, yeast, flour and salt. After about a two hour rest, the dough for the Oasis Naan gets formed into rounds, the centers have to be flattened, docked well and vigorously, and then sprinkled with coarse salt, chopped scallions, and a pinch of cumin or caraway seeds. This is where I strayed from the recipe in Dorie's book, instead of scallions I used chopped fresh chives from the garden and I skipped the spices - my taste testers do not like these spices all that much.




This is an easy and interesting bread to prepare. The texture of the Naan was flaky and crispy on the outside but the bread itself was soft and fluffy inside and although I prepared it without the spices and subbed the chives for the scallions, it still was delicious.

Our hosts for today's recipe are Maggie of Always Add More Butter and Phyl of Of Cabbages and King Cakes - a big Thank You to both our gravious hosts!

To see how the other Doristas prepared the Oasis Naan, please click here.




37 comments:

  1. Perfect rounds of naan Andrea! I made all with cumin seeds and should´ve made variations.

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    1. Paula, I must admit I did not use up all the dough yesterday, there is some left in the fridge, I simply ran out of time. I have to think of some other variations too.

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  2. You took some really nice pictures! Your Naan is so perfectly shaped too, nice job!

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    1. Thank you, Jessica - those were my first Naans, was not really sure how they should look like.

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  3. Beautiful pics - the scallions chopped finely make it look so pretty.

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    1. Just trying to be different, Jenn. And the kids do not like bits of scallions on their bread. But they liked this version, so I guess it was o.k. to stray a bit from the original recipe.

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  4. Hi Andrea,

    I love your photos and their frames...and your naans even more!
    I've added a bit of this and a bit of that and they were fantastic!
    Unfortunately like every good food, they somehow disappered in a sec.!
    All the best!

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    1. Thank you Carola - but I only made one version, not nearly as many varieties as you did (they all looked delicious).

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  5. I too, like the option of using different toppings with this recipe. I can see it as something I will make often. Lovely photos!

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    1. Cynthia, I agree, the basic dough lends itself to many different variations and all the ones that I have seen from the other Doristas look delicious.

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  6. Great photos. I love this recipe because you can add just about anything to the top of the naan. Some of my tasters also don't like anything green, so I made half with scallions and cumin and half with just salt.

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    1. I liked your variations - it is fun to adjust this bread to your and your family`s taste(s).

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  7. These look absolutely perfect.
    I like how flatbreads like this can be used to scoop up other bits of goodness from the plate :-) Yum

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  8. Andrea, I do like how you change up the recipe and come up with various adaptions to fit your family's needs. Your naan looked delicious. I am going to check with Maggie to see if I can post late this week. My husband, Michael, who, as you know, is in a Memory Care Unit and receiving wonderful Hospice care, is deteriorating rapidly and I've been a bit distracted this week. I will prevail, only late.

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    1. Mary, I am sorry to hear about your husband`s deteriorating health. I really do not think that posting "late" will be problem at all - once you get a chance to post, I will make sure to give you rave reviews! Do take care!

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  9. Yum! Chives sound like a great idea. It was a delicious bread, no matter what you put on it.

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    1. I agree, there are lots of toppings that one could try with this bread.

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  10. Absolutely perfect looking! Love the chives on your lovely bread! This is a bread that I will make again…loved the texture!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy - well, if I do not use my herbs on and in just about everything I prepare these days, I will never be able to control their abundant growth.

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  11. Perfect looking naan. I will bake this bread again and try some traditional flavors...I let my grandkiddies choose today, it was fun. Chives would be good...I also have them in my garden and should use them more often...thanks for the reminder. And they also give great color; your photos are really great.

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    1. It is so nice to read that you always have your family in mind when you prepare your dishes!

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  12. Your Naan are beautiful--so round! I'm still working on the round part. I like the chive addition. Perfect. This is a great TWD/BWJ recipe!

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    1. I agree Cindy, this is a wonderful recipe, another keeper.

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  13. I love naan!! They are so delicious! I actually have never made my own but really would love to try it. Yours look perfect! Round and beautiful. Such a great job you did Andrea!! Hope you are having a fabulous week.

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    1. Thank you so much for your nice comment, Beth! Looking forward to all your fabulous posts this month!

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  14. yours are the least puffy ones that i have seen so far, and most "authentic" looking! great job!

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    1. Thank you, Alice, but I believe I just got lucky on my first try because I had never baked naan before.

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  15. Your naan look perfect. I really like the addition of chives - they're so pretty.

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    1. Thanks, Jora. Chives seem to have less bite than scallions and the family just prefers them. Besides they grow like crazy right now and this recipe seemed like a good way to use some of them.

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  16. Could these be any more perfect? Nice job! Looks and sounds delicious.

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  17. THese are lovely - chives are such a wonderful thing :-) I could have them on just about everything.

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    1. Those chives are growing like weeds right now, so this is one good way to use some of them.

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  18. Your naan turned out beautiful, very nice and just browned enough! Glad that you all enjoyed this recipe, we did too. I skipped the spices also, just salt on some of them and added cinnamon and sugar on the others.

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    1. Erin, cinnamon and sugar on the naan sounds like an idea I would never have come up with - I am sure that they were delicious.

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  19. Amazing! You got the perfectly round, flat, and browned.

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  20. Your naan looks perfect! I love the golden, crispy look.

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